Playwright: Craig Wright
At: Northlight Theatre, 9501 Skokie Blvd., Skokie
Phone: 847-673-6300; $34-$54
Through Feb. 25
BY SCOTT C. MORGAN
It was hard to escape the media hoopla about Vice President Dick Cheney's ill-fated 2006 quail 'canned hunt.' Comedians had a field day with the 'shooting lawyer' jokes.
Playwright Craig Wright also seems to found inspiration from Cheney's hunting mishap with his world-premiere play, Lady, though Wright is clearly not laughing. Instead, Wright illustrates an ill-fated hunting trip as a larger metaphor for America's political divisions that have escalated since 9/11 and the Iraq War.
In Lady, the personal really does become political as three hunting buddies go on their annual trip to bag woodcocks in downstate Illinois. Lady is the loyal hunting dog of Kenny ( Michael Shannon ) , an unemployed guy who loves to smoke pot and watch movies to cope with the fact that his wife is dying of cancer. Dyson ( Paul Sparks ) is a history teacher who has been cheating on his wife. What makes Dyson fume is the fact that his 18-year-old son becomes suddenly motivated to join the Marines to fight in Iraq because it's his civic duty.
Dyson blames his son's sudden patriotic surge on a local speech made by Graham ( Lance Stuart Baker ) , a high-powered conservative Democratic congressman ( and President Bush loyalist ) who was elected thanks to Kenny's campaign contributions and Dyson's election strategizing. As these three meet, accusations fly, old wounds are uncovered and a member of the hunting party doesn't live to see another day.
Wright cleverly makes these individualized characters to also represent various American populations. Kenny represents Americans who relate more to pop-culture entertainment instead of responsibility or real life, while Dyson is a political moralist whose extramarital affairs are used to weaken his arguments by highlighting his behavioral weaknesses ( perhaps a major flaw in President Bill Clinton that pushed Americans to vote Republican in 2000? ) .
In Graham, you have the pig-headed politician who has rationalized everything for the sake of America's image and power, grandstanding on moral character and the ultimate correctness of America's every move.
Watching this trio lock horns makes you feel uneasy, though their views and actions rightfully make an audience examine who we are as Americans in this troubled time. The only apparent fault with Wright's engrossing drama and his characters' arguments is the complete omission of mentioning the 'good war' to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan. ( How quickly we forget that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 didn't immediately lead to the faulty intelligence that led to the Iraqi War. )
Under BJ Jones' direction and its flawless acting ensemble, Lady delivers a sucker punch to the gut and head. The emotional and political implications of these buddies' disintegrating friendship certainly makes you worry for us all as Americans, as well as our ability to pull together and remain the moral democratic beacon we claim to be.